Abstract
Based on panel data from cities in Hebei Province from 2009 to
2021, this paper regards the new talent introduction policy in Tangshan, The
Phoenix Talent Plan, as a quasi-natural experiment. It establishes an index
system for the development efficiency of the digital economy in various cities
and constructs a double difference model to empirically examine the impact of
The Phoenix Talent plan on industrial structural upgrading in Tangshan and its
operating mechanism. The main research conclusions are as follows: (1) The
Phoenix Talent plan significantly promotes the upgrading of industrial
structure. After a series of robustness tests such as placebo tests, this
conclusion still holds. (2) Data envelopment analysis results show that the
overall digital economy development efficiency in Hebei Province from 2010 to
2021 is relatively high, with Tangshan's digital economy development efficiency
ranking at the forefront within the province. (3) DEA-Malmquist analysis
results indicate that the development efficiency of the digital economy in
cities plays a significant moderating role between talent policies and the
upgrading of industrial structure. Given this, Tangshan should actively attract
talents and intellects, enhance technological innovation capabilities, and
promote high-quality economic development.
Keywords: industrial structure upgrading, Phoenix
Talent Plan, digital economy, DID Estimation.